Department of Psychiatry

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences was instituted in 2001 by a SJBSM presidential order. This was the result of the integration of the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences departments. The Chair of the Department is now responsible for all the academic, clinical and direct psychiatric services offered.

Foreword

Psychiatry includes everything that cannot be categorized in one of the traditional basic sciences. It encompasses material that is fundamental to modern medical practice, including brain behavior correlation, ethical issues and the economic forces affecting the future of medicine. One of the main goals of the study of the Human Behavior and Psychiatry is to expose the medical student to basic concepts of human behavior and psychiatry that will be used in the medical field. It covers the history of psychiatry, the emotional development of people throughout their life cycle, including biological and psychological aspects, the development and meaning of symptoms; reaction to sickness, and treatment, including psychological, somatic and interdisciplinary modalities.

The first aim of the Department Courses are: to learn the NORMAL functioning of the mind and its interaction with body, so as to distinguish what is NOT NORMAL or ABNORMAL. Together with results of this interaction are: behavior, affect, emotions and feelings. Therapeutic techniques including psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, hypnosis, emergency techniques and crisis intervention will also be discussed. Great emphasis is given to focusing on the community and community mental health issues.

The General Psychiatry Residency Program?s main objective is to prepare the general practitioner that arrives at our Program to be a highly skilled medical specialist and humanitarian psychiatrist.

Courses

Human Behavior, 270This course covers human development and behavior as a whole, mayor psychological developmental theories and the Doctor-Patient-community relationship. It is offered to second year medical students in the first semester.

Psychiatry Course, 278The Psychiatry course is centered in the evaluation, identification, classification and different treatment modalities of psychiatric disorders. The impact of psychiatric disorders on the individual and on the community as a whole is interwoven into the course. It is offered in the second semester to the second year students.

Psychiatry, 320Psychiatry Course, 278Psychiatry 320 Course is the Psychiatry Clerckship. The third year students are exposed directly to psychiatric patients, directly supervised by a psychiatry attending. This is a six week rotation at the out patient department and psychiatric hospitalization units.

Psychiatry, 420This course is an elective in psychiatry for the fourth year medical student where they are in charge of all the needs and direct care of the patients treatment. They are under direct supervision by an attending. This is a fourth week rotation.

Clinical Facilities

The clinical facilities of the Department at located at the San Juan Bautista Medical Center (SJBMC), that is the main general hospital operated by the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine